RibbonHow to tile windows on a Mac
Tile windows on macOS with the built-in tiling in Sequoia: edges, the Window menu and keyboard shortcuts. Plus what to use when you want more than halves.
By Chethan Kumar S N · Updated
macOS can tile windows on its own. Since macOS Sequoia (15), you can snap a window into half or a quarter of the screen without installing anything. Here’s how, what its limits are, and what to reach for when you outgrow it.
Tile windows with the mouse
- Drag a window to the left or right edge of the screen. An outline shows where it will go. Let go and it fills that half.
- Drag to a corner to fill a quarter.
- Drag to the top edge (the menu bar) to fill the whole screen without entering full-screen mode.
- Hold Option while dragging to see the tile outlines straight away, without going all the way to the edge.
Drag a tiled window away from its spot and it goes back to its previous size.
Tile windows from the menu
In almost any app, open Window → Move & Resize. You’ll find left, right, top and bottom halves, quarters, and arrangements for the front two, three or four windows at once (“Arrange”). Window → Fill fills the screen.
Keyboard shortcuts
Hold Fn (Globe) + Control and press:
- ← or → for the left or right half
- ↑ or ↓ for the top or bottom half
- F to fill the screen
- C to centre the window
The menu shows the exact shortcuts for your version of macOS. You can add your own in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → App Shortcuts, using the menu item’s exact name.
Tiling settings
In System Settings → Desktop & Dock, under Windows, you can turn edge dragging, Option-dragging and the gaps between tiled windows (“Tiled windows have margins”) on or off.
Where built-in tiling stops
macOS’s tiling is a snapper: it places a window when you ask and then forgets about it.
- It doesn’t keep a layout. New windows open on top. Every arrangement has to be redone by hand.
- It only does halves and quarters. No thirds, which matters on wide displays.
- It doesn’t scale with many windows. With six or eight windows open, you’re back to ⌘Tab and Mission Control.
Beyond built-in tiling
If that’s enough, you’re done. If not, there are three kinds of app to look at, compared in The best window managers for Mac:
- Snappers like Rectangle add thirds, more shortcuts and more snap areas. See Ribbon vs Rectangle and Magnet.
- Tilers like AeroSpace and Amethyst keep every window in a grid automatically.
- Scrolling window managers like Ribbon give every window a full-height column on a strip that runs past the screen’s edges, so you never place windows by hand and they never shrink. Move with a three-finger swipe or ⌃⌥ ← →.
If you use a window manager, turn off macOS’s edge tiling so the two don’t fight. Ribbon will remind you and show you where.
Questions
How do I put two windows side by side on a Mac?
On macOS Sequoia or later, drag a window to the left or right edge of the screen until an outline appears, then let go; do the same with the second window on the other side. You can also choose Window → Move & Resize in the menu bar.
What is the keyboard shortcut to tile windows on Mac?
On macOS Sequoia or later, hold Fn (Globe) and Control and press an arrow key to move the window to that half of the screen. The full list is in each app's Window → Move & Resize menu.
How do I turn off window tiling on a Mac?
Open System Settings → Desktop & Dock and, under Windows, turn off "Drag windows to screen edges to tile" and "Hold Option key while dragging windows to tile".
Ready? Buy Ribbon for $15, or read all the guides.